Pinellas County, Florida ∙ A Common Place for Prescription Drug Crimes

Pinellas County is one of the prescription drug crime capitals of the United States. Florida laws have allowed easy access to prescription drugs for many years. While the legislature is starting to close those loopholes, and law enforcement is responding to the frequency of prescription drug crimes in the area, this is still a common occurrence in Florida.

If you are one of the many people in this area facing charges involving prescription drug crimes, I can help. I am a St. Petersburg prescription drug crimes attorney with more than 17 years of experience. In my criminal practice, I handle only criminal defense matters and only in Pinellas County. This helps me provide the most focused representation that I can for my clients.

Types of Prescription Drug Crimes ∙ Doctor Shopping and Prescription Drug Trafficking

There are a few main types of common prescription drug crimes, including:

• "Doctor-shopping": This is one of the most common prescription-drug-related crimes . This is when a patient goes to a doctor and gets a prescription, for OxyContin, Vicodin or other pain killer, only to go to another doctor for the same prescription without either doctor's knowledge.
• Other forms of prescription drug fraud: Doctor-shopping is just one form of prescription drug fraud, but other similar crimes include prescription drug forgery, creation of false prescriptions and false impersonation for the purpose of obtaining prescription drugs.
• Drug trafficking: The crime of drug trafficking is not driven by the sale of pills; it is driven by quantity. Illegally possessing prescription drugs over a certain quantity is what constitutes trafficking. It takes surprisingly few pills to qualify for a minimum mandatory prison sentence.

The Roots of Prescription Drug Crimes ∙ Addiction, Not Criminal Intent

In my experience, I have found that the root of this crime, for most people, traces back to some kind of injury or infirmity. They get a prescription from the doctor to alleviate the pain associated with the injury, which helps. The only problem is that the patients are often unable to come off the drugs — they become addicted — and it's this addiction that drives them to commit prescription drug crimes.

In 17 years of defending criminal matters in Pinellas County, I have come to believe that all people are basically good inside, even if they have made mistakes. It's no different for prescription drug crimes. If you're like most people accused of a prescription drug crime, your problem isn't malice or some kind of evil intent — it's addiction. Let me help you get the best outcome in your criminal defense case so you can get your life back on track.

There are drug court options and other programs available in prescription drug cases.

Contact a Clearwater, Florida, Prescription Drug Possession Lawyer ∙ 877-782-7151

Contact me for a free initial consultation. I can talk with you about how the criminal justice system works and about what I can do to help you. This is a free, no-obligation consultation.